Threadbare
by Deadly Beauty
Summary: Pulling down walls that have kept you safe for so long is hard, and scary. Only one wall remains between Krillin and 18 and true happiness, but it's the scariest one of all to break. When it comes down to it, does 18 have the courage to tear it down, or is she right in thinking it's there for a reason and needs to stay? K/18. One-Shot.
A/N: A sweet little one-shotter, about learning to let go of your fears. I really am very happy with the way this came out, and I think it's very sweet, so I hope you'll enjoy!

-Deadly Beauty.

 **Threadbare**

A twilight sky over an endless ocean was truly a spectacular sight to behold; a vibrant mishmash of pinks, yellows and oranges filling the sky, mixing and melding together. Every second was a work of art.

The hot sun, even though it had now dipped below the horizon, was still making its presence felt. The air was heavy with a damp, sticky heat, a remnant of the day that had just passed. Out in the distance a muggy, summer storm was brewing. It would almost certainly be an electric night.

Krillin could just about hear the water calling his name, pulling him in. And who was he to say no to such a tempting mistress? He loved the sea. He knew he was lucky, having grown up in this tropical paradise, surrounded by a never ending, turquoise ocean all of his very own. Postcard companies could only dream of the view that greeted him out of his bedroom window every morning, and he was determined never to take such a gift for granted.

He hadn't been in the water very long tonight, ten, fifteen minutes maybe when he heard the familiar groan of the Kame Houses ancient screen door, the sound beckoned him, and he turned and paddled in a little closer to the shore, to where his feet could rest safely in the sand.

Krillin watched, completely entranced as the ethereal beauty that was Android 18 wandered slowly down the beach and into the surf, dressed in her bikini and an old teeshirt of his that hung far too loosely on her slender frame. She waded in, cautiously, stopping once the water was about midway up her calves, she hadn't yet decided if she wanted to commit to this completely.

"Come in," cooed Krillin, gently trying to coax her, he knew her so well, he could read the hesitation on her face. "The water's perfect."

Slowly, and with a somewhat unsure smile, 18 took a few more steps towards him, until the sea was licking at her thighs. Krillin stood silently, pangs of jealousy burning through him as he watched the ocean caress 18's body in ways he too, was yearning to touch her. Behind her, a full moon was rising into the sky, illuminating his love in a cosmic, silver halo. The sight left his mouth dry and his brain empty. Truly he was the luckiest man alive to share his life with this woman. If only 18 would believe him when he said it.

The lure of the cool water quickly won her over, and 18 waded further out into the ocean, toward Krillin, who was waiting for her, smiling like the gleeful, love struck fool that he was.

His arms encircled her slender waist as soon as she was within his reach and without hesitation, he pulled her in for a slow, lingering kiss. His lip were salty and tasted like the ocean, but that was nothing new, he always tasted like the ocean.

It was rare, that 18 allowed Krillin to display any sort of affection for her outside the safety of their bedroom. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy or appreciate the gestures, quite the opposite really. She reveled in every single one of his sneaky sideways glances and 'accidental' touches as they brushed past each other in the hall. She loved the way he couldn't contain his love for her.

No, her concern didn't lie in her own sense of modesty, it was that she was terrified of people judging Krillin for choosing her. There were very few things in this world that were capable of instilling true fear in Android 18, but of that short list, losing Krillin was right at the very top.

She saw the way people looked at them when they were out in public, and knew the way his friends spoke about them behind their backs. And even though Krillin had told her time and time again that he could care less about other people and their unwanted opinions, 18 was so scared that one day they would finally wear him down and he would see that they were right, that he could do so much better than her.

Tonight though, they were all alone. The other inhabitants of the tiny island, Roshi and Oolong, had made themselves scares, citing the current heat wave they were experiencing as the reason for their hasty exit. Secretly though, 18 suspected that Krillin had handed them his credit card and told them to disappear for a few days, in the hopes that he might find himself in this exact situation.

Now, far away from prying eyes and harsh critics, 18 quickly decided to throw caution to the wind, and grant Krillin his wish. Softly and without a word, she draped her arms over his shoulders and brang her legs up to lock them around his hips.

With anyone else, being in such a vulnerable position would have been unfathomable to the pretty blonde, she was open to any number of attacks from here. But it wasn't anybody else she was with, it was Krillin, kind, sweet, wonderful Krillin. So instead of keeping her guard up, she let it slip even further, resting her cheek on his shoulder and nuzzling into him, planting sweet, tantalizing kisses into the crook of his neck.

Krillin suppressed a moan as 18 pressed herself closer into his body, until they were so intertwined that he couldn't tell where he ended and she began. Tender moments like this with her were so very rare, and he wanted to savor it for as long as he possibly could, despite the fact that his body was crying out for him to take her. There would be plenty of time for that later.

The loose material of the teeshirt that 18 was wearing floated lazily between them, and Krillin yearned to peel it off of her – and then throw it so far out to sea that it would be gone forever. Not because he had taken on some of his masters' seedier habits and wanted an unimpeded view of the bikini top he knew was hiding beneath it; though he did admit that would be a pleasant side effect. But because he knew that 18 was hiding a part of herself behind the threads, and he hated the fact that she was so reluctant to share it with him. It was the one dark shadow looming over their otherwise perfect romance.

"I love you," he murmured against her lips, and then, closing the final millimeters between them, he kissed her, effectively silencing the protest he knew his words would cause. This moment was perfect, and Krillin refused to let 18's insecurities ruin it for either of them. "I love you so much." He gazed deeply into her lovely blue eyes, which shimmered in the starlight. God. She was hypnotic.

Placing his strong, weathered hands on either side of 18's face, Krillin kissed her again. She didn't resist. Instead, he could feel her smiling against his lips. His hands began a journey then. Their destination? Every inch of 18's silky soft skin. They travelled down her neck and over her shoulders, traversing every bump and groove of her body as if it were scared ground, before dipping below the water. She shivered as his fingertips skipped down her back and came to rest on her behind, where they seemed to linger for an extra moment.

Krillin smiled devilishly and waggled a silly eyebrow at 18, eliciting a happy laugh from her, before he moved his hands on from their favorite resting place. Slowly he slid them down her strong legs, which were still wrapped around his hips, and back up again, where finally they came to rest right near the one area he knew was out of bounds.

As soon as he took the material of the shirt into his hands, Krillin felt 18's entire body tense up, and he became acutely aware of the fact that it would take only a nanosecond for her to snap him in half with her legs. "It's okay," he soothed her, as he slowly rolled the bottom of the shirt back and forth between his thumb and forefinger, "I'm not going to do anything."

But even nothing was too much for 18. Dipping her own hands below the water, they quickly found Krillins and pried the shirt from his grasp.

"Please," 18 looked at him with sad eyes, her voice barely a whisper, "don't."

The trepidation in her voice just about broke Krillins heart, he hated the fact that there was still something in her life that had the power to make her feel so small. He was determined not to let the heartache show on his face though, he was going to be strong for 18, she needed him to help her tear down this final wall between them, whether she realized it or not. Silently, he complied with her wishes and abandoned the shirt, for now, instead wrapping his strong arms around her and pulling her back into him, as close as he possibly could.

Feeling her relax back into his body, Krillin exhaled a nervous breath that he didn't even realize he had been holding in. The last thing he wanted in the whole world was to upset 18, but he was beginning to understand that she was never going to confront this issue without him taking the lead. She was too scared. Of what, Krillin wasn't sure exactly. A reaction he wasn't ever going to give?

"Hey," he rubbed his hands up and down her back, in big, soothing strokes, "do you trust me?"

"Yes," 18 replied without even a moment's hesitation.

"And do you have any idea how much I love you?"

18 nodded her head, she knew where this conversation was going, and she could feel a panic starting to rise up inside of her. She wasn't ready for this to be over yet.

"And do you really think I don't know what you're trying to find from me under here?" Krillin tugged gently on the shirt.

"Krillin," 18's eyes widened with a combination of surprise and fear, but Krillin silenced her before she had a chance to speak.

"18, of course I know what's under here, but that part of your life is over now, I promise you. I love you so much. So much that it scares me to even think about a life without you in it," he paused briefly when he noticed 18's bottom lip starting to quiver and kissed her. "I promise you, a couple of scars is never going to change that.

Turning her head away from the man she loved so dearly, 18 gazed out into the inky black ocean. She thought about what it was that she wanted to say or do next, she knew that no matter which path she chose, it was going to end in heartbreak. She loved Krillin dearly, and she knew he wasn't like the others, but even still, there was only so much he could bare, and only so much burden it was fair to ask him to carry. This would be his limit, she was certain.

"They're not just…" she trailed off, scared of whatever it was that was about to happen, "they're so much worse than you can imagine." Gingerly, 18 ran her index finger over a faded, thin line that ran across Krillins shoulder, a remnant of some heroic battle past, "not like this."

The feeling of 18 caressing him so tenderly sent shivers down Krillins spine. She was like heroin to him, he just couldn't get enough of her.

"I love you, Krillin, and I'm scared that once you see them, it's going to be impossible for you to forget what I really am."

"Oh, 18," Krillin pulled 18 back in close to him and planted a soft kiss on her temple. He knew what she was going through, what it felt like to be at the mercy of unrelenting insecurities, how isolating and all-consuming anxiety could be, he had been in that dark place too many times before, and he would be damned if he was going to let her feel like that for even a minute longer. "You'll always be perfect to me."

Pulling back slightly, 18 peered into Krillins warm, dark eyes. She was looking deeper than that though, past his pupils, iris's and lenses and into his soul; where she was searching for any type of a clue that he didn't mean what he was saying. She found none, there was nothing there but the most sincere love and adoration she had ever seen.

"Here," slowly he dipped his hands back under the warm water and brought them to rest on 18's abdomen, the thin cotton of the shirt was all that was separating their skin now and instantly he felt 18 tense up at his touch. Her legs squeezed a little tighter around his hips and her fingers pressed deeper into his shoulders. He didn't move though. Instead he waited, remaining as still as a statue for as long as it took for 18 to relax.

"See," he smiled at her as he finally felt her muscles start to loosen, "not so bad, is it?"

She didn't respond. It was taking every ounce of courage 18 had inside of her not to turn around and disappear. It would be easy to just run away, she was too fast for Krillin to keep up with her and he couldn't trace her whereabouts since she lacked an energy signature. Even if he could though, 18 knew he never would. He was far too much of a gentleman and knew her and her need for walls and boundaries better than anyone. No, if she ever wanted to leave, he would never stop her, even though she knew it would break him. He loved her to much too ever hold her down.

"Hey," Krillins sweet, gentle voice brought her back to the moment at hand and she locked her eyes onto his, scared that if she looked anywhere else she really would panic and run away, and she wouldn't be brave enough to come back. "You okay?" She nodded.

"I'm going to put my hands under the shirt now." Wanting to make sure there were no surprises and that 18 remained in control of this whole situation, Krillin made sure to talk her though his every move as he carefully slipped his hands under the loose, floaty fabric and pressed them back against 18's stomach. "Just say the word and we'll stop, okay," he promised, "I'm so proud of you."

She closed her eyes, counted to five and then. "Stop!"

* * *

The ocean had suddenly seemed so vast and empty, there had been no place to hide from reality out there, and 18 wasn't quite ready to give up her little delusion just yet. No, she just needed a few more minutes, seconds even, if that was all she could have, in the happy little fantasy world she had built for herself. Now, sitting under the warm spray of the shower, 18 found herself desperately trying to come up with a plan. Something, anything to delay what she knew had to come next.

Realistically, she had known since the beginning that this thing with Krillin would have to end someday. But that was before, when it had only been a bit of fun. Before he had worked his magic on her, and wormed his way through her icy exterior. Before she had known tender embrace, lingering kisses and passionate nights. Before she had fallen in love.

18 knew she should have left months ago, when she had first started to notice her feelings towards Krillin change. But she was selfish, and Krillins love was addictive, intoxicating. She kept telling herself, one more week and she would end it, one more day and she was done, but she was never done. How could she be? Somehow the weeks had become months, and then, the months had become a year.

Now though, her time was up. Krillin wanted to tear down the one, final wall that remained between them. He had never seen her without her teeshirt on, she wouldn't allow it. She kept herself covered up constantly, when she swam, when they slept, even when they made love, it was always there, omnipresent.

The water was starting to run cold, and so 18 climbed out of the shower with a heavy heart. There was only one way this ended from here. Krillin saw her scars, realized exactly what he had gotten himself involved with and that was it. It was all over.

And who could blame him? If she were able to, 18 would have felt sick as she stared at her naked reflection in the bathroom mirror. Who could ever love this?

Krillin did, well, at least he thought he did. If he saw this though, saw the real her…. 18's thoughts trailed off into nothingness. He would be kind about it of course, she knew. He would spare her feelings and say that it wasn't her, that he was the one who needed to make some changes, take his life in a different direction, it didn't matter really, what he said, it would all boil down to the same thing – he didn't want to date a machine.

Reaching up, 18 ran her hand across her collar bone, across the deep, jagged scar that marked the skin there, left behind from a hastily made, careless incision. There were others too, an almost identical scar, just above her pelvis and a third, running vertically down her torso, between her breasts and through her naval, connecting the two horizontals. Beneath them, lay gears and wires and an empty hole where there used to be a bomb. This was 18's truth, as much as Krillin would try to convince her otherwise. Once he saw this, even he wouldn't be able to deny it. There was nothing human about her at all.

A quiet, almost apprehensive knock on the bathroom door interrupted 18 from her thoughts. "18?" Krillin asked, "you okay?" She didn't respond. She wasn't okay.

18 knew that Krillin would never intentionally set out to hurt her, and that this wasn't his fault, he honestly did think he loved her, and for a moment there, floating together, out in the ocean, she had almost believed that maybe there was a way to make this work. Maybe, just maybe he really could overlook the hideous scars that branded her body, and he could pretend that there was nothing underneath them that wasn't supposed to be there.

Resting her forehead against the cool glass of the bathroom mirror, 18 let a long, tormented sigh pass her lips. She knew what she needed to do. It wasn't fair to either of them to go on living like this.

* * *

The soft click of the bathroom door unlocking startled Krillin, who had been close to drifting off to sleep on the floor, where he had been sitting patiently, waiting for well over an hour. He scrambled up onto his feet just in time to watch the door swing open and a thoroughly defeated looking 18 step through it.

"Hey," he smiled softly at her. It took every last ounce of restraint he had in his body to keep his feet planted firmly where they were, when all he wanted to do was wrap 18 up in his arms and never ever let her go. She had that look in her eyes though. He had seen it before, back in the early days of their relationship when she had been the most scared and vulnerable. Krillin knew that if he got to close to her now, she would panic and flee, and that couldn't happen. He wouldn't let it. She headed into the bedroom they shared, and Krillin waited almost a full minute before he gave into his weakness and followed her. Unfortunately, what greeted him was his greatest fear.

"18…" Krillin halted in the doorway, creating a barricade of sorts. Not that it would do a damn thing to stop 18 if she truly wanted to leave. She would just take off out the window, or blow a hole though the wall, or through him if she felt like it.

He watched, helplessly as 18 haphazardly stuffed things into a duffle bag, random items of clothes and mismatched shoes, it was clear that she wasn't thinking clearly. "What are you doing?" he pleaded with her, rising panic evident in his voice. "18 stop! I'm sorry. About everything."

The unwarranted apology caught 18's attention, and she came to a complete standstill in the middle of their bedroom, her half full duffle forgotten limply at her side. She looked at Krillin with sad, curious eyes, she did not understand this man or his unwavering devotion to her at all. "You'll thank me for this later," was her eventual reply.

"No! I won't!" Krillin burst fully into the room. His heart was pounding in his chest as he descended head first into full blown panic mode. He reached out to try and take 18's hand, something he had done countless times before, but she snatched it away before he had the chance. "Don't do this 18, please," Krillin pleaded as he tried, without success, to blink away the tears that were forming rapidly in the corners of his eyes. "You're not thinking straight. Let's talk about this."

"No Krillin, I am thinking straight!" 18 exploded, her misery was quickly giving rise to anger and she could feel herself losing control of her emotions. The floodgates opened and she was unable to stop herself from roaring at Krillin. "You're the one who's deluded, Krillin! You think you love me," she hesitated for a moment; this night had started out so perfectly. How the hell had they ended up here? "You think you love me, but you wouldn't. You couldn't."

"18, stop!" Krillin growled; his fists were clenched so tightly at his sides, in what was an exceptionally poor attempt to control his emotions, that he suspected his fingernails were drawing blood from his palms. "You don't get to decide what I can't or won't do!"

What had gone wrong here? How had things unraveled so quickly? Krillin didn't understand. As far as he knew, 18 was as happy in this relationship as he was. She had never expressed any doubts, and had certainly never questioned his love for her. Up until tonight, everything had been perfect. They had been perfect. Obviously he realized that he had pushed 18 to fast when he had touched her earlier, but never had he anticipated that her reaction would be so visceral. That what he honestly thought was a kind and loving gesture could be the thing that brought down his entire relationship.

Turning his gaze towards his bedside table, Krillin thought about the sparkly diamond ring that was secretly tucked away inside its draw, and as he did, his knees gave out on him and he dropped to the floor. He was going to ask 18 to marry him, he'd given Roshi his credit card and told him and Oolong to buzz off, so that he could create the most perfect moment in the world to do it. Now it seemed that all that was going to come from this was heartbreak and debt. So much debt.

The thud of Krillins knees hitting the ground reverberated through 18's brain like an explosion. She just wanted this to be over. "Why are you making this so difficult?" she yelled, as she raked her fingers back through her hair, as if that might help her think gain some much needed clarity. "Can't you see that I'm doing this for you?!"

"Don't you dare, 18." Krillins voice was as dangerous as hers now. He stood up, and when their eyes met, there was a fire smoldering there that 18 had not expected to see. "Don't you dare make out like you are doing me a favor! I have made it more than clear to you that I don't care about your past, or your scars, or what is or is not inside of you. I don't love you despite those things, I love you because of them!"

"You really think you love me?!" Something inside of 18's usually rational mind finally snapped, she was going to end this once and for all. "Then here!" She grabbed hold of her shirt and in one swift movement ripped it off of herself and hurled it at Krillin. "Tell me then," she demanded, "tell me if you really think you could love this?!"

Krillin didn't try to hide his actions as his eyes roamed across 18's bare torso, covered now only by her bra. This was what he had wanted, after all. She was right – the scars, there were three of them, were worse than he had thought they would be, much worse. He had envisioned clean, neat surgical wounds, Gero was after all, a doctor, and he didn't know why, but Krillin had just assumed there would be some kind of quality to his work. Doctorly pride maybe? But these, poor 18; they were big, deep purple scars, thicker in some places than others, not even straight lines. This was mutilation, it was no wonder why she had wanted to hide them from him.

Slowly, as rational thought returned to his mind, Krillin realized that 18 was waiting for some kind of reaction or response from him. She stood before him, eyes wide, like a deer caught in headlights. He could tell from the look on her face that she was trying not to panic, her entire life was on the line here. Krillin could feel all the anger of just a second ago fading away, and a sense of calm replacing it. He felt like himself again. Smiling, he looked at 18 and said, softly, "well, this changes everything."

"What?"

"Here." Noticing how uncomfortable 18 was, being suddenly so exposed, Krillin peeled off the teeshirt he was wearing and offered it to her, but before he let her have it, he reached out for the duffle bag and took hold of it. When he felt 18 let go of the bag, he relinquished the shirt, which 18 quickly pulled over her head. She'd revealed quite enough of herself for one day.

"You're right, I did think I loved you before, but now… now I know beyond a shadow of a doubt. I love you, 18, more than anything."

18's poor head was spinning from the emotional rollercoaster that had been the last ten minutes, they had left her feeling drained and overwhelmed. "Why?" she asked, she didn't really understand the intricacies of emotions at the best of times, so this was way, way out of her league. She needed Krillin to hold her hand and walk her through everything that had just happened.

"What do you mean why? 18, I don't know how you expected me to react to this. Well, I do, but I don't know why." Krillin rubbed at the back of his head, it was a nervous habit that annoyingly gave away his state of mind. If truth be told, his feelings were more than a little bit hurt by 18's rash judgment of him, but now was so not the time for that. "When I look at you, I don't see a robot. I never have, and I don't know why you thought some scars would ever change that."

Sitting himself down on the edge of their bed, Krillin patted the empty space beside him, "C'mhere." 18 hesitated a moment, but then did come and join him, and she felt the biggest wave of relief wash over her as Krillin put a strong, comforting arm around her shoulders, pulled her close and kissed the side of her head.

Continuing, Krillin said, "when I look at you, I see so many things. I see a survivor; what you have been through is just… incomprehensible, and the courage and bravery you live every day with is amazing. I see honesty, loyalty, anger, happiness, sadness, confusion, greed, strength, curiosity. Every emotion you see in me, I see equally back in you. You are smart, and kind, and funny and hot as hell and I'm the luckiest guy in the entire world. But what I really see when I look at you, more than anything else, is the absolute love of my life."

With his arm still around her shoulders, Krillin flopped back down on the bed, taking 18 with him. Rolling onto his side so he could face her fully, he wrapped his other arm around 18 too; his heart was still racing and he was scared that if he let go of her, she would disappear. If that was the case, he'd hold onto her for the rest of his life.

"Are you okay, now?" he asked, as he reached up and brushed some hair out of 18's eyes, tucking it back gently behind her ear.

18 nodded, her eyelids were starting to grow heavy as her body relaxed. Out in the distance, thunder started to rumble. "I'm sorry I doubted you," she said, sleepily, as she made herself comfortable against him.

"Shhh," Krillin gently kissed 18's forehead, "its ancient history now."

Smiling, Krillin gave in to his own increasing drowsiness and closed his eyes. He had never loved 18 more than he did right now, in this very moment. He didn't want to think about how close he had come to the brink tonight, he could have been a single misspoken word away from losing her forever. But he hadn't. Instead something wonderful had happened, that last wall between them, which had always seemed so indestructible, had finally come crashing down.

That last, dark shadow of doubt that had been lingering over their love had finally lifted. There was nothing between them now, and honestly, it felt different. Krillin felt closer to 18 than he ever had before; to truly know everything there is to know about a person – every fear, ever doubt, every secret; that was the most intimate two people could ever be with each other. And now he had that with 18. The road to get here hadn't been easy, but he would walk it again a thousand times again just to feel this closeness with the woman he loved.

End.

* * *

A/N: Well, I hope that you enjoyed this little piece of fluff. It was a fun bit to write and I'm really happy with the way it came out! Please let me know what you thought, good, bad or otherwise. Reviews are always encouraged and very much appreciated. Until next time my lovelies!

~D.B.


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